Verto offers an OData API which provides real time, read only access to your data. The API can be consumed by several different applications including Excel and PowerBI. Click here to view the guide on how to set up API keys, manage access to your data and consume the API through the Microsoft OData feed interface.
Top Tips
- If your connection to the OData feed is out of date i.e. changes have happened in Verto since the link was made, a ‘Refresh’ banner will be displayed at the top of the Excel screen. Click to update the data.
- The OData model contains all available controls, not just the fields specific to your Verto build. These fields will also display using the original database descriptions and not your custom frontend descriptions. The site configuration export file can be used to assist with matching database descriptions to the frontend descriptions. See How to export the site configuration for more information.
- The lookup tables have already been linked to the relevant fields, so you don’t need to link the two tables when building the report.
- To speed up the report building process, you can apply a filter to reduce the number of records loading each time.
OData Model vs. Verto Site Configuration
When using the OData module for your reporting needs, it is worth noting the following:
Pluralisation
Most entities in the OData model are not pluralised i.e. In the OData model you will see ‘Project’ or ‘ProjectMilestone’. However, when viewing the same field in Verto (either via the Properties option or in the site configuration export file), these will show as ‘Projects’ or ‘ProjectMilestones’.
Table Aliasing (name)
In the OData module the ‘Projects_001’ table is called ‘ProjectExtended’. It is available independently or via a navigation property from the ‘Project’ entity.
Available Fields
Not all fields are available in the model by default. If you can't locate a field, please contact Verto Support to see if this can be made available. Note: Calculated fields are not included in the model. If required, calculations should be done via the report using the raw data in the model. Change History is also not included in the model.
Governance Report Data
When a governance report is created, the data from the project is drawn into it and can be modified. Upon approval, this data is written back into the project. It is the data in the project which can then be reported on via the OData model. The model will not contain historical governance report data. It is however, possible to report on meta data in relation to the governance report process i.e. governance report type, approval status, approved by, approved date etc. Note: if specific governance reporting is required this can be achieve via a custom report. See Reporting for more information.
Advice
Here are some sample reports produced using the API. Note: The headers in each file display the original database names to highlight the fields selected during the build process. These headers can be changed.
Watch this video to find out more: